Obviously preparing fresh, sensible meals is the best way to monitor not only your waistline, but also the foods, chemicals, etc that you are putting into your body. But let’s get real… some days you just need the easy alternative. With work, family, friends, and working out all vying for our time, sometimes cooking falls by the wayside.

I have to admit, when it comes to week day lunches I prefer to microwave a frozen meal rather than having to come up with yet another meal solution. Since joining Weight Watchers I’ve been trying to find tasty meal options that don’t blow my points plus budget. WW has a ton of frozen meals, desserts, snacks, etc etc etc. It’s super easy to start stocking up on their products, especially because they list the points plus value right on the packaging! No math involved. 🙂

Yesterday I tried their meal in a bag, Cheesy Chicken and Brocolli. It was a nice sized portion and was 9 p+. The cheesy sauce melted nicely, and at first smell and look it seemed like it would be a yummy and filling meal. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I was truly disappointed in the meal! It had a grainy texture, and almost no flavor. I left the lunch room still a little hungry and certain I could have made a delicious chicken & brocolli with brown rice that tasted amazing for either the same amount of p+ or less… I’m hoping that one of the three other options in my freezer will be better.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of the WW products. Their dark chocolate raspberry ice cream bars are to die for! So creamy and delicious, yet only 2 p+. Can’t go wrong with that! But this got me thinking… Just because I’m on the WW program I don’t have to eat only WW products. In fact, that’s the beauty of the program – I can eat anything I want (within reason of course!). So as I was perusing the frozen meal aisle I started reading nutrition info on several other products.

Today, I enjoyed a delicious Kashi Lemongrass Coconut Chicken entree. What I like about Kashi in general is that they use whole grains, and minimally process their foods. The products of theirs that I love are FULL of fiber, protein, and natural ingredients. This lunch entree was no exception! It was tasty, aromatic, and very filling. The textures of the grains and rice were very appealing, the combination of coconut and lemongrass flavoring was delicious and a little exotic. 🙂 And the best part… IT WAS ONLY 7 P+!! Seriously?!?

I write all of this to say, don’t get stuck in a rut! Just because you are following a certain plan, or you are trying to stick to a certain type of diet it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy new foods, brands, products, etc. There is a world of new flavors, foods, varieties, and options. If you do your research and read those labels you may be surprised at just how good for you some of those options can be.

Don’t get me wrong, nothing can replace the control and benefits of cooking your own foods, but at the end of the day, there are some pretty darn good substitutions out there. 🙂

Yesterday started out great. The majority of the day I was not hungry, and rarely thought of food. I went to the gym, got home and cooked a yummy dinner, and was amazed that I was not hungry. Usually I am famished at dinner time, but tonight it took me forever to finish my bowl of homemade “Mexican Chili” (my own concoction 🙂 ). I was worried that I’d be really hungry later, but I had a good buffer of calories so I knew that I could have a sensible snack and still see a calorie deficit for the day.

And then, it hit. Not only was I a little hungry, I wanted to eat! Anything, everything, whatever I could find. Rather than giving in completely, I did have a snack. And then another snack. Granted, if I had eaten what I really wanted, I would have most likely consumed 1000+ calories. Luckily, that did not happen. But, I did manage to go over my calorie allotment, AND my choices were not that great… ugh…

Fast forward to today… I’ve basically eaten identical meals to yesterday, but I’m hungry! I’m feeling very munchy and it’s frustrating me. Here I thought I was doing so well, and really I have, but it feels like I’m going backwards today. And here I am again, trying to find that balance. Balance of making good choices while not depriving myself OR overindulging. Balance of not beating myself up, but learning from myself

At the end of the day, my food intake yesterday will not make or break my health goals. However, if I let every day be like yesterday (or worse) I will end up right back where I started. So today, in this moment, I’m pushing myself to continue making good choices, to not give up, to not give in. Challenges are a part of life. Yesterday was not my worst day, and that day may still be to come. What I have to focus on is the present. I can’t change what I did yesterday. But I can take this frustration, and learn from it in the hopes of making better choices when faced with the same emotions/thoughts/etc as I was yesterday. This is so much easier said than done. But I think it’s possible.